Ain't No Simple Quirk
by Dakyu
Summary: Ichigo's and Rukia's relationship is NOT a normal one, by any means...This is a drabble of oneshots based on their obscure relationship. Some are sweet, some sad, some funnny, some just plain WEIRD... IchiRuki M for some adult humor
1. No Words

**Disclaimer: don't own bleach characters…I wanna cry, but my stupid male ego gets in the way…sniff**

**Have fun reading this, first shot at making a Bleach fanfic, enjoy!**

**No Words**

It was raining. It always seemed to rain whenever she was sad.

Ichigo's orange bangs, unrestrained and frizzled, drooped lazily over his vision as he hunched over his desk, his unfinished homework proceeding to ferment on his desk. It was going to stay and ferment there, too, despite its yearning desire to be completed, the nag in the back of his mind urging him to complete it so that he could actually stay on task in school.

But there was a much bigger nag that had been bothering him, and it took the form of the yellow pajama-clad woman sitting on his windowsill, staring blankly out at the rain.

A quiet sigh heaved up through his chest and out through his lips in a violent gust, causing his lips to flap slightly. Truth be told, he just didn't know what the fuck to DO, right now…

He had always strived to help everyone he knew that he was close to, his constant wars to protect everyone he knew was evidence enough of that.

Aizen…the boutous…Soul Society… Every single time he had fought his hardest, even when he was sure he would lose, to protect everyone that he treasured, often times with explosive results. He had, more or less, conquered his own inner hollow, and vanquished countless others

So _why_, then, was it that he couldn't help this girl who was pouting on his windowsill?

The dead silence in the room loomed around him after the rage from his own self loathing began to subside. Each muscle in his body twitched with annoyance, quivered with frustration, cramped with the realization that there were no words to counsel her.

Rukia…why can't you be happy? Why do I always mess up?

Another frustrated sigh escaped his lips. He couldn't just pull out the despair from her heart and beat it up a pulp; he couldn't kill this feeling in her heart and have everything be hunky-dory again...

No. He had to THINK this time…

He was so damned used to just killing everything and solving everything with his fists that he didn't really know what to do…should he just outright ask her what was troubling her?

Mentally he roared at his own stupidity on the matter, immediately shooting the idea down into the depths from whence it came. No, that would just make matters worse. Besides, he _knew_ what was causing it, despite his "forgiveness."

The whole soul society incidents. Even now, after 2 full years, she STILL hadn't forgiven herself for putting all of them in danger. His brown eyes glanced over at her, studies be damned.

She hadn't moved from when he had last looked at her, which had been over an hour ago.

His gaze shifted to her face, and he cringed slightly. It was just a pure look of raw sadness, of emptiness. Though her face itself was blank, her navy windows into her soul, shining orbs above her cheeks, revealed everything very bluntly. Laconically so.

Despite all of his best efforts to try to make her feel at home here, she still felt alone, rejected.

What the hell was he doing wrong? He growled slightly in irritation, his gaze falling to his lap. Why couldn't he just do something RIGHT for once?

The fury now burning inside, he pushed out his chair, and stomped over to her. Still engrossed in the trickling rain, she didn't even notice him until he wrapped both of his arms around her waist.

There were no words to describe how her eyes opened in surprise, letting loose some of the tears she had so desperately been trying to hold back.

No words for the awkward position Ichigo realized he was in, or to describe the blush that came to his cheeks.

No words…to describe the feeling of her body against his losing its tension. Releasing herself, leaning into him and hugging him back.

0o0o0o0o0

**R&R please!**


	2. Keep your mouth SHUT

**Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own bleach…(sigh)**

**Keep Your Mouth SHUT**

"Well, how does it feel, Ichigo?"

"Wha…?" Our hero rolled over in bed, his body flopping as easily as a rag doll to see what the hell the stupid stuffed animal was blabbering about this time.

"How does it feel, my beloved little bastard, that _I,_ Kon, have seen things that you will never see!"

An enormous yawn escaped the adolescent's lips. "What the fuck are you yappin' about, Kon? Are you talking about the inside of the washing machine? 'Cause if it is, it's nothing to brag about…"

"Oh no no no, this is something FAR, greater…" The little stuffed lion snickered, glad to have the upper hand for once. "You see, I have seen inside her shirt…"

Ichigo's eyes snapped open at that moment, a feral snarl bubbling in his throat. "You w-WHAT!"

"Ah, I see I have your attention…"

He was immediately out of bed, strangling whatever pitiful life the stuffed toy might have had left in him. "Listen, you little perverted little freak, I may have hormones, but I don't go sticking my face into Rukia's chest—"

"_What_ about my chest?"

Ichigo stopped cold, his head slowly rotating on its axis towards the source of the noise.

"…every chance…I…get…." He swallowed nervously. A nerve throbbed on her temple; her fists were clenched tight at her sides, and her eyes screamed murder.

"…oh crap…." he whimpered.


	3. Well that was odd

Disclaimer: Don't own bleach…no dur…

**Well that was…odd…**

"Ichigo?"

"Oi…?" Why was he always asked stupid questions when he was trying to go to sleep?

"How does one open this?"

An angry eyelid slid upwards over a brown orb, annoyance permeating the air around his face and leaking into his bed sheets and through his mattress. His glare now aimed at the little short haired thorn in his side Shinangami, he growled slightly into his sheets.

As he righted himself on the bed, his mouth opened in a yawn, fingers lightly scratching his scalp. "How do you open _what_," he asked, annoyed.

"This," his "mentor" stated flatly.

He glanced up at her, his eyes falling down her frame until he saw what the source of her inquiry was.

One of his eyebrows quirked. "A Pepsi bottle?"

"Yes. Orihime has asked me to try this, as she said it's a very good drink."

_Typical…that girl has such a huge sweet tooth…_he thought. "It's also pure sugar."

"So?"

He sighed. "Alright, lemme help you with that." He heaved himself up from the bed, and with a simple twist of his wrists, the top screwed off and landed on his desk.

"Thank you…" She said softly.

"No problem." He watched her for a moment, before his face went blank. "You're not going to try to drink that whole thing all at once, are you?"

She blinked. "Is there a reason why I shouldn't?"

His hand rose to his chin in thought. A mental image of her, turbo-charged with sugar high, zipping around the city at breakneck speed laughing hysterically blasting parts of the town to the high heavens entered his mind.

"Is something wrong, Ichigo?" She asked suddenly. "You went pale for a second there…"

_For good reason, you little turbo-destructo machine…_He sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just take my word for it, you don't want to drink the whole thing at once."

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment, but she complied and only drank a small portion of it.

Ichigo flopped back down onto his bed, welcoming the heat of the unwashed sheets.

_Gurgle_.

His eye opened in annoyance again. "What was that?"

_Gurgle_.

He glanced over at Rukia, and found her looking completely flabbergasted at her own abdomen. "Uh…Ichigo, is this _supposed_ to happen?"

"What?"

She suddenly doubled over. "This weird feeling…"

His mouth flattened into a thin line, his eyes narrowing. He sat up on his bed again, facing her. "You've…never had gas before…?"

"What's—"

The sound that happened next would completely blow Ichigo away. It was obvious that she had attempted to say the word "that." However, upon opening her mouth and beginning to enunciate her words, an explosive belch, among one of the loudest Ichigo himself had ever been graced to have rape his ear, forced itself up from deep within her throat to blast him in the face with the byproducts of drinking soda too quickly.

Both stood silent for a moment, before Rukia blushed slightly and shrank back a bit. "I see why you tell me to not drink it all at once…"

He had no response for that. He truly had no response for this quirky bitch…

The orange-haired teen looked up at his hair, surprised to see that the wind pressure had plastered it against his head comically. He ruffled it slightly with a hand, allowing it to return to its normal state of permanent disheveled-ness.

"Well that was…odd…"

She gave an embarrassed smile, before turning back towards the soda bottle, and slowly screwing the top back on.

A slight grin came to his face, before he plopped back down in bed again. As crazy as his life was after he had met Rukia, he wouldn't have it any other way now…


	4. Beloved Idiot

He was an idiot. It was simply that laconically and stupidly simple.

Everything from his complete lack of tact to his idiotic facial expressions…he was a complete, and utter idiot.

He charged into battle without any sort of battle, plan, any number of times allowing opportunities for him to have died for someone who would only be threatened again in the next battle. Yet, time after time, he unwaveringly stood up for and protected his friends…

Herself included…

She sighed irritably, her notes sitting unfinished on her desk as the teacher droned on about some battle in a long-ago human war that she, and apparently no one else in the class, cared about.

He was a complete idiot when it came to a girl with a large chest…his eyes were immediately glued to them (especially during the hotter months and the dark depths of the "valley of the gods," as Kon had called it, was visible for all to see…) and drool waggled from his mouth, and very little could ever tear his eyes away from the little globes of love…

Why did he have to be like that? Sure, she had heard that this was normal for any healthy teenage boy, but that fact didn't alleviate the strange feelings of hurt that she felt whenever he did that.

Why was she even HAVING these feelings about this, anyways? If he wanted to look at prettier girls than her, then so be it, it wasn't _her_ business…

Another huge throb of hurt twitched in her chest as soon as the thought entered her mind, immediately followed by a pool of confusion. What the hell was going on?

The bell rang, signaling the start students gathering their belongings and leaving. Rukia sat a moment, her mind a clouded turmoil, the storm within its confines whirling in incessant circles of gibberish that she couldn't even begin to comprehend.

"Rukia?"

The storm had turned into a thunderstorm that began raining cats, dogs, and the occasional fluffy bunny. Well, it wasn't now…since all the little cute tykes were covered in rain. Maybe she could have--

"Rukia!"

"Eh?" She jerked at the rush of sound to her ear, sending a few of her books flopping to the floor.

"You ok, Rukia? You look even weirder than usual…"

She didn't glance up at the orange haired owner of the voice. Why didn't he know of what was going on within her? Almost immediately she mentally slapped herself for such a thought. It was childish to think that he'd understand what was going on when even she herself didn't understand…especially an idiot like _him_…

"Did you drink the strawberry shampoo again?"

At this, she couldn't but help allow a little smile to mold itself onto her face.

"No, Ichigo, I didn't," she said with a tiny bit of a laugh in her voice.

He stooped down, grabbing her books and slipping them into her bag. "Alright, let's go then."

She waited expectantly for him to shove her bag back into her arms roughly, but it never happened. Instead this buffoon was…wait…Ichigo was carrying her books?

"I've got your books…" he muttered.

She looked up at him, still slightly bewildered that he'd do something like that…wasn't it only guys who were going out with a girl that would do that? And only FOR that girl?

Bemused, he continued. "You know, if you keep on letting your mouth hang like that, you're going to catch flies," he retorted, a slight flippant tone coating the words.

She swallowed her witty retort. Instead, a glare that could have made Byakuya wet his pants blossomed on her face, a nerve throb appearing on her temple.

"W-what?" He asked nervously, obviously not expecting such an expression. "It wasn't THAT bad of a remark…"

Her glare faded to a look of annoyance. She grabbed him by the shirt roughly, dragging a stumbling Ichigo out of the classroom.

"H-Hey! What gives?"

She continued to pull him out of the room and down the hallway, her irritated look still securely plastered on her face.

He was most definitely an idiot. _But, at least_, she thought while glancing back at his face contorted in an amusingly bamboozled manner…_he was HER idiot_.

0o0o0o0o0o0

**Sorry that this chapter wasn't as impressive as the others, R&R please! **

**Dakyu**


	5. Midnight Rainbow

**Midnight Rainbow**

It was such a quiet night, Rukia finally decided. But wasn't uncomfortably quiet…it just felt…right, somehow…

"It's strange that we're not screaming at each other, isn't it?"

Rukia practically choked on air at Ichigo's comment. "W-what?"

The moonlight danced across his smirking lips. "Well, if you think about it, the only time that we're not screaming at each other is when I'm saving your ass…"

"…"

"Um…why are you looking at me like—?"

_POW!_

"I'm not some little damsel in distress, you know…" she huffed, arms crossed indignantly.

"You're right…" Ichigo mumbled, due to the fact that his swollen left cheek wouldn't allow him to speak loudly. "You're no damsel…"

_POW!_

"Jeez, woman! Can't you take pity on a crippled guy! (One that you _made_ that way, too?)"

She turned on her rear indignantly, the grass beneath her rustling begrudgingly as she did so.

"Puh," he grunted, and turned away as well, another breath of wind flowing in a grand wave over the hill.

The park was truly beautiful at this time of night, the moon painting its loving glow all about the landscape, a few large clouds. True, they were both technically minors out during the middle of the night on a school night and would probably get in trouble if they got caught, but then again rules had never really been anything that Ichigo had ever taken seriously.

He doubted Rukia did, either. At least the _human_ ones…

So there they were, on the arguably most romantic hill in the entire county (…at least all the girls in school considered it that)…staring indignantly AWAY from one another…

Ichigo sighed irritably. "Why do we always have to fight?"

"We don't," she snapped.

"Then why are we fighting now?"

"We aren't!"

"Really?"

"No, we're not, we're having a conversation."

"Sounds a heck of a lot like an argument to me…"

"Do you WANT it to be one? Cause you're MAKING it into one…"

He stopped talking for a moment, an amused chuckle escaping his lips. "No wonder everyone thinks we're together…we fight like an old married couple…"

She choked on air again. "What the _hell_ are you talking about?"

He shook his head slowly, the bemused expression still on his face, his cheeks having stopped swelling. "Nothing, just a comment that Ishida once said to me."

"_Ishida_ said that?" she half asked half wondered aloud, bewildered. "I mean, we're not…"

She glanced over at Ichigo in a fashion that could almost be described as nervous, but his expression was unreadable. Over the last year, she had learned a little of the "slang" of this world and still had a long way to go, but she didn't wonder this time if this was some sort of slang phrase that Ichigo hadn't taught her yet. The overall meaning of Ishida's mentioned comment, whatever it might have been, was still understandable to her.

…though being called an "old married couple" wasn't something she wanted to be described as. She might have been a little older than Ichigo…ok, a LOT older…but that still wasn't something she wanted to be described as!

She stuttered a moment, earning an amused look from Ichigo. "W-well does anyone else think of us like that?"

His smirk deepened, the shadows on his face lengthening, giving him an almost demonic appearance.

It looked like his crazy hollow side…

"Eh," he shrugged, "not many."

Her eyelids lowered, mouth straightening, her nose twitching like a rabbit's in annoyance. "Go on…_who_?"

"Chad, Ishida, Orihime…" he began counting off on his fingers, and with each name mentioned, she felt an ever-more powerful blush threatening to flush her face.

"Ok, ok, I get it…but why?" she wondered half aloud.

Ichigo nearly toppled over as she said that. Was she really that clueless?

He scratched his head awkwardly. "Um…cause we act like a couple…"

She blinked. "Care to elaborate, idiot?"

"We're here…" he stated flatly, a finger jabbing towards the ground.

"Meaning…?"

"We're here, ALONE, in the middle of the NIGHT, on what most people think is the most ROMANTIC hill of the area…"

"But you asked me to come here…" she blinked, the gears in her head working at full speed to try and process his weird tidbits of information. "Wait…so that means…"

Her face turned beet red at the realization.

"You asked me to come here…on a date?"

He only blushed in response, shuffling his feet awkwardly in the grass: an amusing sight concerning his seated position.

How the hell were either of them supposed to respond to this?

An awkward silence fell over them, both snatching glimpses of the other, before snapping their attention on important sights, such as a waving piece of grass or a flying lightning bug.

Then, something breathtaking happened…

…no, it WASN'T their first kiss…

Like doors opened to heaven, the clouds parted above them, and a light rain started to drizzle downwards lazily. Around them, the moonlight hit the water droplets releasing an explosion of soft colors about them.

Ichigo saw the colors reflected in Rukia's amethyst eyes, radiating spheres of wisdom and love, and couldn't help but smile slightly. As much of a pain in the ass as she was to deal with at times, she had been an indisputably huge change in his life.

She still was, in many ways. His attempt to take her on a subtle date was proof enough of that.

But, what she did next surprised him even more. She scooted over towards him, a rare genuine smile on her face.

"Well, this is a good date…"

He just blinked again, and knew that he'd have done a face-plant if he had been standing.

_POW!_

"HEY! What the hell was that for?"

"It was a love punch. Don't old couples do it?"

As she skipped away cheerfully, only one thought remained in his mind.

Only _she_, he mused, could make a cheerfully sadistically happy face like that….

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**Fin**

**Eh, this chapter kinda stunk. Sappiness seems to follow me… (shrugs) Anyways, any comments/questions welcome, please review!**

**And, I have one more announcement:**

**I NOW TAKE REQUESTS!**

I don't take ALL requests, as I don't write lemons, and I also can't guarantee that it will be done any time soon, however I will do it to the best of my ability…

**With that said, I now withdraw; I hope you're enjoying these one-shots! **


	6. You suck at cooking

"Rukia, what are you doing?"

"I'm making some American food."

The scene found Rukia, dressed in an apron that Ichigo didn't even know had been in the house, (or perhaps she had stolen it, it was hard to say…) with a bubbling pot of water with something floating inside of it.

"Mac and cheese?"

"Yes! See! They have little animal shapes!" She dropped the spoon into the pot with a hiss of steam, and picked up the box, revealing a bright blue design with an advertisement for animal-shaped noodles.

"Since when can _you_ read English?"

"Since Ishida taught me!" she said proudly. "He had to explain a lot to me, but the box said that there were little animals…and when I saw the designs, I just HAD to make them!"

"…Oh-ho KAY, then…" She seemed like she was going insane…this was pretty unlike her…sure, if they had been bunny shapes, it would have made sense, but just plain animals? He eventually agreed on the idea that she hadn't gotten enough sleep and was probably a little loopy.

He hovered over her shoulder as she turned back to the pot. "Are you _sure_ you know what you're doing?"

"Of course, idiot!" she snorted. "As long as I follow the directions on the box, nothing will go wrong, right?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Smoke rose in billows from the house, sirens blaring with people screaming and scrambling for cover.

The fire department scuttled about the scene. It was truly no big fire, but with the closeness of the homes to one another, a fire could easily spread to another building and cause the entire district to wipe out.

_They'd probably get a pay cut for that_, Ichigo mused.

His gaze shifted about the scene. His house was on fire, though it was no extreme deal: most of their important stuff, such as the family photos and other things, were packed away in the basement, which was made out of concrete, so there was no immediate damage to it.

All in all, it was probably one of the most hilariously embarrassing moments in all his 16 years.

Here he was, standing next to Rukia, with his house going up in flames, with people staring in awe at the spectacle…yet the only thing that he could really think about was the cutely flustered face on the young woman's face.

"You know, you really suck at cooking…" he stated flatly.

"I-I'm used to cooking with different utensils." She stuttered, embarrassed.

"Doesn't change the fact that you suck. Or the fact that you can't read ENGLISH directions…"

She growled in response.

Silence fell between them, interrupted only by the constant scuttle of the firemen.

"You know," he said thoughtfully, finger and thumb resting on his chin, "I think you might have a talent for destroying stuff…"

Rukia whirled on him, readying herself to punch, but she stopped.

She'd only be going along with what he said.

"Idiot."

He shrugged in response. "I'm serious, though."

"Why?" she muttered. "I'm sure you've had fires in this area before…"

"True. But you're the first person I've ever known to burn a house down from Mac and Cheese…"

She hung her head in defeat. He had a point.

0o0o0o0o0o0

**Sorry this was so short. But I just HAD to write this…I actually burned mac and cheese not too long ago, and it just fit **

**(And before you ask, NO, I didn't burn the house down, heheh)**

'**Til next time!**

**Dak**


	7. Household management

"This... is either going to get outrageously hilarious or very lethal VERY quickly..." Ishida commented.

Sado couldn't help but give a slight snort of mirth at the comment. It was just too true, really. No matter how much they had fought together, saved each others' asses, worried about each others' well being, or anything often associated with wars that threatened to split the heavens… (such conflicts DID seem to follow them around…)

But Ichigo and Rukia were, more often than not, just hilarious to listen to from a distance.

"BASTARD!!!"

Ishida took a sip of lemonade as Orihime took a small slurp of…her drink… (Sado still didn't dare inquire as to its origination) as the chimney suddenly blew, small sparks of reiatsu and ice reverberating out of the top and rocketing into the sky like chilled fireworks.

"What do you think their kids will be like?" the red-head suddenly asked, perking up slightly with a giant grin.

Sado and Ishida said nothing, and after their initial shock, their faces also matched Orihime's bemused look.

"If nothing else, they're going to need a lot of insurance…" Sado muttered, scratching his dark-haired scalp with a chuckle.

"NOW look what you did, IDIOT!"

"Me?! YOU were the one that did all of that… explode-y kido crap!"

"Explode-y crap this!"

…There wasn't quite a word to describe the gigantic earth-oscillating depression of a sound that caused the trio's hair to be blown backwards, set the house askew to the ground, and cause the chimney to wilt in so pathetic a movement.

Ishida took another sip of lemonade. "True, but what kind of insurance is going to cover a death god's temper?"

A window cracked, the chimney broke off lamely, and Orihime let out a small burp.

There truly was no answer for a question like that.


	8. The thermometer

There was always one statement that, no matter what sort of mood he was in, no matter where he was or what he was thinking, could send chills down his spine.

"Ichigo… what is this called?"

He froze, slowly turning around and bracing.

Had she bought tampons again?

Was it pop-rocks and soda?

…His eye twitched as he finally laid eyes on a long slim object that she held in her slim fingers, amethyst eyes glinting slightly in curiosity.

"Rukia… it's just a thermometer…" He gave a slight snicker, pulling her around the waist towards him, giving the beautiful little woman a gentle hug. "Why?"

"Well, Orihime told me to use it…" His eyes trailed over her features, and it was now that he realized that she was dressed in no more and no less than his little sister's bathrobe. "And it would tell me…" she trailed off, cocking her head to the side, before she suddenly grinned, and hiding it away.

He did NOT like THAT look…

A dark grin crossed her features, and she gave a slight chuckle, before slinking her hand over to the waist band of the robe.

His memory suddenly did a double-take. Wait a minute… was that a…?

"Rukia…" he managed to choke out, suddenly aware of her very-heated body.

"Something wrong, Ichigo?" she purred, pressing her body up against his sensuously.

"Just that… you're…Uh…" he swallowed. It wasn't like they had never done this before but… out of the blue like this?

She chuckled, before letting the robe fall to the floor and practically tackling him to the floor with a feral look in her eye. "I'm a woman with needs Ichigo… a woman with needs and now with nothing more to worry about…"

It wasn't until Ichigo saw the "thermometer" with the pink reading on his desk the next morning that it would all make sense…


	9. Love on the Eve

"Ichigo…"

"WHAT?!"

Rukia snorted. "I just needed to get to the bathroom…"

Ichigo roused himself from his bed, giving her what he hoped was the most incredulous look he'd ever given anyone. "You woke me in the middle of the night, just to tell me that?" Gods, he was getting a headache…

She blushed slightly. "There's no more toilet paper…"

"So go get some!" he hissed, flopping over onto his mattress and burying his head into his pillow, hoping to drown out the aching thump inside his head and get this midget of burden out of his room and back to his little sisters' room.

"I… I don't know where you keep it…" she said quietly.

He rolled back over, and opened a single eye. Her face was flushed, (probably even more so than it looked since it was so dark in the room,) eyes glinting in the starlight and with her hands tightly gripping the edge of his bed.

She needed him, and if he had ANY chivalry at all in him, he would do something for her.

He closed his eyes and rolled over. "So use a tissue. It's 2 am, Rukia!"

"Dammit, Ichigo!" she hissed, pounding slightly on the bed. "Just tell me where it is!"

He flinched at the movement, turning towards the wall. "In the closet."

"Where?!" she was beginning to do the bathroom dance, and had it been any other time, he probably would have been laughing his ass off…

"Top shelf."

There was a silence, before she cursed. "You know I can't reach that!"

"So grab a stool."

"Ichigooooo!" she whined.

"Fine!" he snarled, rousing himself up from bed and trudging over to the closet.

He cursed her as he handed her the roll of toilet paper.

He cursed her as she didn't even give him a thank-you as she rushed away, nearly slamming the bathroom door and waking everyone in the building.

He cursed her as he shuffled back to bed, collapsing into his sheets with a deflated sigh and begging to be taken by sleep now.

"Ichigo?"

He growled in response.

"Th… thank you." She mutters, before beginning to close the door.

He gave a slight sigh. "Your welcome. Now get to bed… it's Christmas Eve, the last thing we need is to wake Yuzu and Karin before it's time for presents…"

"Yeah…" he saw her head fall, before the door began to close again.

He felt his eye twitch again. Great… now she had him feeling guilty before bed again. "Hold on, hold on…" he said, before gesturing for her to come over. "If you go about doing a mope thing I'll never get any sleep…" he half joked.

She didn't react, save for coming over with a slightly dead expression.

Great… another time he'd have to talk a problem out.

"Ichigo… does your…" she trailed off, sitting on his bed.

He gestured for her to continue, not saying anything. If he said anything, that would screw things up, and he didn't want to screw things up at the moment because he liked them they way they were and…

Whoa… he felt his head reel. He needed a serious dose of caffeine when they woke up later…

"Does your family think I'm imposing?" she suddenly blurted. He blinked in the darkness, but she didn't wait to respond. "I mean… I just burst in unannounced someday, and I know that your dad's weird about stuff like this, but I don't even have any Christmas gifts for you and…"

She paused, suddenly cursing. "And… you weren't supposed to hear that…" she gave a wry snort. "Shows how well I can blend into the real world, huh…" she gave a slight sigh.

"Er… Rukia?"

She seemed to snap out of her thoughts. "Eh?!"

"Well… to be honest… no one expects you to do that…" he said, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably.

"Why? I mean your dad said I was part of the family and…"

"He also thinks your homeless… he won't expect you to buy anything big. Besides…" Ichigo gave a slight chuckle. "You kinda suck at giving gifts."

Her pouty expression instantly vanished. "What?"

"I mean… you have Yuzu a screwdriver for her birthday… my dad a pink blanket, and…well…I know you like bunnies… but playboy bunny magazines? C'mon, Rukia!"

He suddenly felt her fist connect with his face. "I don't understand you, Ichigo!" she blurted, still hissing and keeping quiet, but was obviously at her limit. "I come in here, begging for some acceptance, and all I get is this… this… YOU!" She stood up, fuming in front of him.

"Why can't you just… ARGH!" She punched at him again, but was met with resistance.

He had caught her fist with a single hand. And quite easily too, by the look of it. She cursed, letting loose another first, but he deflected it, still keeping hold of the first fist, tightening his grip slightly.

She winced a little at the grip, but her eyes widened slightly.

The intensity in his eyes was disturbing.

"You are part of this family, Rukia." He stated, calmly and soothingly. "Now get to bed. We have Christmas gifts in the morning…"

"But what about my… you…" she babbled, still slightly dumbstruck. Any previous speechlessness was taken away, however, when he just smirked and leaned towards her.

After they pulled away, he gave her a gentle push out of the room, and then slammed the door.

He always cursed how she had turned his "normal" life upside down.

He had always complained about her behind her back, aggravating Ishida and the others (who knew about her residence in his home) to no extent.

But the one thing that he knew that he would NEVER curse or hate, was the taste of her lips upon his own…

That was a gift he'd be seeking again and again… that was for sure…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**My apologies at not having updated this in the longest time and also at the quality of the work, however I FINALLY just got back from college and had a bit of a writing itch and decided to write a bit, and this is what I came up with!**

**Reviews appreciated, I hope to be back again soon!**

**Dak **


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